Deviant Behavior (8th Edition)

Author:Erich Goode

ISBN 13:9780132403665

ISBN 10:132403668

Edition:8

Publisher:Prentice Hall

Publication Date:2007-02-09

Format:Paperback

Pages:400

List Price:$102.60

&nbsp

&nbsp

This widely-adopted text seeks to understand deviance from the key sociological perspectives and theories. Real-world examples of deviance are provided throughout to encourage critical thinking about deviant behavior and its impact.

John S. Lyons

Appearing nearly 20 years after the first edition, this fifth edition is a survey text on the topic of deviant behavior. Within this broadly defined area, the author includes crime, drug and alcohol use, heterosexual and homosexual behavior, violence, and mental illness. "This book is primarily designed for use in teaching a class on deviance. It has a distinctly sociological perspective to it and is therefore ideal for deviance classes taught within sociology departments. However, it could also be a useful text to present the sociological perspective on deviance in related fields such as psychology or criminal justice. "Consistent with its purpose, the audience for this text is students. The ideal audience would be upper-level undergraduates. "This text has many features that make it a more appealing read for students. There are many photographs, particularly starting out each new chapter. There are also interesting and illustrative insets that provide specific stories or data that expand the topics discussed in the text. The book is very well referenced. There are subject and author indexes in the back, both of which are very thorough. "This well-written text would be a very good choice as a primary text for a class on deviance taught within a sociology department. It could also be a good supplemental text for classes taught in related disciplines. Students will enjoy this book. The material, which is naturally interesting, is presented in a manner that holds the reader's attention and provides useful information from multiple conceptual and theoretical perspectives.